Week 8 Flashcards
a watched pot never boils
when you want something to happen quickly, it seems to take a long time
// - I have been waiting forever for my vacation - Yes, a watched pot never boils
easier said than done
speaking is easier than doing
// Surfing is easier said than done
under the wire
just in time
// Many students get to school under the wire
toasty warm
pleasantly warm
// In the winter we want our home pleasantly warm
watch your step
be careful where you walk
// On the escalator, please watch your step
wear off
to gradually disappear
// My headaches are wearing off
what’s keeping you?
why are you so slow?
// You are late. what’s keeping you?
a white elephant
something beautiful, but useless and expensive to maintain
// my grandma gave me a silver tea pot, which is a white elephant
to heat up
stronger, more intense, more angry
Blei
lead
out of place
not belong somewhere
turn sth. INTO sth.
make fish into sushi
arguing
fight ABOUT/OVER
to fix sth up
to fix, to bring someone/something together
to have a vested interest in something
to have a personal or a business interest in something
// I have a vested interest in going to Italy
have an axe to grind
to have something to complain about
// You have to go to the teacher after class. You have an axe yo grind
have a weakness for someone or something
to be unable to resist something, to have a fondness for something
// I have a weakness for chocolate.
to have dibs on something
to save something or to reserve something
// Hey, I have dibs on this chair
dibs!
that’s mine!
to have mixed feeling
to have negative AND positive emotions
// - How was the movie? - Oh, I have mixed feelings about it
to have money to burn
to have a lot of money, be rich
- When you win the lottery you will have money to burn
have your cake and eat it too
use something and still have it - usually used with “can’t”
// If you stay up late, you can’t expect to feel great in the morning. you can’t have your cake and eat it too
wake-up call
an alarm, a warning
famine
a time of no food
a time of no water
drought (draut)
to blast
states very angry, intense
defiant
refusal to accept sth.
refusal
saying/state/acting that you won’t to anything
to defy
not to something you should do
defunc
not working, not in use
defankt
it’s on the tip of my tongue
i can’t quite think of something
// I know this name of the actor, uhm, it’s on the tip of my tongue
main thing you live from
to live on
make the grade
to be satisfactort, to be what is expected
// I need to make the grade to get into the university and the standard is very high
make waves / rock the boat
to make trouble
// When you get a new job, you should probably not make waves
man in the street
an ordinary person (Slang: Joe Sixpack = blue collar worker)
// TV likes to do man in the street (woman in the street) interviews on controverse subjects
mean to do something
intend to do something
// I always mean to clean, but I rately do I'm mean to do my atudies, but instead I'm going to the club
Money is the root of all evil
all bad thing are cause by money!
money talks
money gets things done, gives power
// She got a bad grade, but her father solved this problem. Money talks
nail someone or something down
finalize, make final plans
// Did you nail down our plans for the weekend?
neck and neck
exactly even, on the same position
// The two horses were neck and neck until the last few feet ( l l )
blue collar worker
factory or manual laborer
pink collar worker
hairdresser, waitress
white collar worker
office, professional worker
a big rig (slang)
a big truck, a semi-truck
